These blocks make a sweet toy for baby. Light enough to be stacked or thrown, these soft playthings are safe for little ones and add charm to any nursery. Place a jingle bell or sound maker in the interior for a playful noisemaker!

I love wool. Beautiful, soft wool. Blends of fibers and combos that make me swoon. And I know local yarn shops have the goods. I have to show restraint!

My little town is also full of occasional shops.

I had never heard of them before moving here so let me explain what they are. I’ll give you my definition, but know others may explain it differently.

I think of them as awesome garage sales: almost like a pop up-restaurant for sweet finds. No junk. No dirt. No strange smell. People pricing the items actually know their value.

Vintage finds are speckled throughout each store.

Do-it-yourself and Pinterest projects finished and ready for you to display proudly in your home (without the tears).

Feel what I’m feeling?

Yeah.

So, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon locally handspun wool & silk yarn at one such shop.

Joy. Delight.

I wanted to buy it all.

Now.

But since my dear friend (who is also my photographer and business partner and one to whom I refer as the string to my kite since she is a bit more calculated and logical in her decisions) was with me, I couldn’t buy them all.

(Fine. I could have. I’m a grown woman. But it may have caused the friendship schism of 2016 had I filled my arms with yarn and marched to the check-out.)

I had to have a plan.

So I chose one skein for each of my kids. The string to my kite approved. Schism averted.

Enter these three lovely skeins:

Each skein perfectly reflects each of their personalities.

Benjamin is my eldest and “his color” has been orange since he was born. It’s bright and bold, just like his kind heart. If being a good friend could be a super-power, it would be his.

Naphtali is my pickle in the middle (and kindred spirit since I also grew up in the middle). He is serious and focused and seems to blend in until you get a little closer and then, like the yarn I chose for him, you can see the rich, regal colors of his heart.

While Benjamin is a lot like Daddy and Naphtali is a lot like Mommy, we call Iva our “Sparkle Fairy Princess” since everything she does is filled with glitter and performed in a sweet theatrical fashion. She is filled to the brim with pure joy, so soft pinks and pastels made the perfect yarn color choice.

When I got home with my treasures, the skeins practically jumped onto my crochet hook and begged to be turned into cowls. I wanted to design something flexible enough to work with any yarn and hook combo so you all can go find a yarn treasure and replicate the pattern.

So here’s a cowl in honor of the occasional shops and the joy of finding a perfect gift:

How to replicate with any yarn/hook combo: If your yarn doesn’t have a suggested hook size, you can find the right hook for your yarn by placing the yarn inside the crook of the hook and choose the hook that the yarn fills completely without popping out of the crook too much; chain the number of chains to get the desired width of the specific size you want and follow the rest of the pattern exactly from rnd 1.

Iva (pink cowl) is wearing her cowl with the right side facing. This shows the loops left from the back loop single crochet stitches. (See photo below.)

Benjamin and Naphtali are wearing theirs with the wrong side facing. This shows off the little curly nubs from the other side of the back loop single crochet stitches. This is how I envisioned the cowl being worn. (See photo below.)

Abbey Swanson is a crochet designer and teacher of The Firefly Hook.

You can see more of her work over on her website: thefireflyhook.com If you live near Minneapolis, MN you can find all the classes Abbey has to offer in your area on her facebook page!

Happy December everyone! Though we are still waiting for snow here in Northern Utah, it’s been very chilly! It’s been chilly enough for me to start working on some warm and cozy patterns and projects. Since The Boy is growing like a weed, he needed a new winter hat. I decided to make him this Toddler Trapper Hat, big-boy version of the adorable Baby Button Trapper Hat. It’s just as adorable on him as it is on an infant, so this pattern is definitely a win.

So (I guess) the Boy isn’t a baby anymore! He helps fold the washcloths, picks up his toys, throws dirty laundry in the washer and helps transfer wet clothes into the dryer. He also does me a HUGE favor by not throwing a fit when it’s time to change his diaper (Not even interested in potty-training yet, humph!). But I decided he could probably handle some of his bath time by himself as well. The Boy is very much into sea creatures right now, so I knew he would love this little whale bath mitt. This little mitt works up pretty quick, and I love this 100% cotton yarn. It absorbs water and gets a nice lather, and completely dries when hung up.

This pattern has been a long time coming… phew! Do any of you have projects that you work on a little bit here and there, but never seem to finish? That was this pattern for some reason. But it’s okay, because springtime is the perfect time to release this pattern! Still cool enough to need something on cold little feet, but the maritime theme to these cute toddler boat slippers are springy as well.

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